Contact Your Representative About EB Michigan Termination

The National Employment Law Project or NELP has an easy to use form to contact your representatives regarding the termination of Extended Benefits in Michigan. You just need to click on the link we’ll provide, and fill out your address so the system can match your representatives with you.

I had an issue with the system matching me. It turns out that I didn’t literally say my street name was “Main Street” I just said “Main”. So be very specific.  After you fill out your address, click participate. Since many people might not be the best writers there is a form letter for you, and you can edit it however you’d like.  Upon completion of the form you should get an email confirmation about your submission.  The whole process takes about 2 minutes so it isn’t a large investment of time for you. Here is the standard note you can send out:

Unless Michigan lawmakers take action by March 24th, unemployed workers could lose up to 20 weeks of unemployment insurance known as Extended Benefits. The federal government now covers 100% of the cost of these benefits for non-government employees. Thanks to federally funded Extended Benefits, over one billion additional dollars flowed into Michigan since the recession started — benefiting unemployed workers and businesses alike. Nearly 250,000 of us, our friends, family members, and neighbors have counted on these benefits (an average of $284 per week) to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.

On April 2nd, an estimated 35,000 unemployed workers in Michigan will be cut-off of the Extended Benefits they’ve been receiving — unless the legislature acts. Michigan’s unemployment agency estimates that 150,000 jobless workers would lose eligibility for these benefits this year — unless the legislature acts.

All the state needs to do to continue receiving these federally funded benefits is to enact a technical fix to the state unemployment insurance law. Republicans and Democrats in neighboring Minnesota and Ohio came together recently and passed legislation enabling individuals to continue to receive these benefits, while lawmakers in Maine, Washington, and Delaware — states with lower unemployment rates than Michigan — have also passed the technical fix.

Michigan needs to enact the Extended Benefits technical fix to the state unemployment insurance laws immediately!

The legislature’s failure, thus far, to adopt this small change is the only thing that stands in the way of unemployed workers being able to secure the benefits they, and the local economy, so desperately need, and that the federal government is underwriting.

Don’t cut-off Extended Benefits to Michigan’s unemployed workers! Pass the Extended Benefits fix in Michigan! Thank you.

We’re not going to take up more time just go out there and send a note.  Visit: http://unemployedworkers.org/page/speakout/Michigan_Extended_Benefits_2011